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Major Stories
The setting of Judge Dredd has developed considerably over the course of 43 years as a number of storylines have contributed significant recurring ideas to the mythos. Many though not all of these have been multi-part storylines, including "epics" originally serialised across tens of progs. For brevity's sake this list does not include every first or last appearance of every single recurring character, item, theme or narrative conceit in the setting, only the most significant. Major storylines of the 1970s *''The Robot Wars'' (progs 9-17): The Mega-City One Judges face an uprising by the city's robot servant workforce, led by carpenter droid Call-Me-Kenneth. Though "Robots" in prog 9 is a standalone prologue, the main story spans progs 10-17, making it notable as the first multi-part serialised Judge Dredd story, a precursor to the future epics. Also the first of a great many stories to feature robot villains. *''The Academy of Law'' (progs 27-28) introduces the original Judge Giant as well as the eponymous academy and the field assessment for graduating Judge cadets. *''The Return of Rico'' (prog 30): Joe Dredd's clone brother returns from Titan seeking revenge for being apprehended 20 years earlier. This story is the first appearance of Rico Dredd; although he is killed at the end his legacy would continue to influence the setting and characters for many years afterward. *The Luna One sequence (progs 42–59): Various episodes from Dredd's tenure as Judge marshal of the eponymous city, leading an international coalition of Judges who enforce the law on the moon. In addition to Luna One itself, Texas City and the Sov Block were indirectly introduced to the setting through the appearance of members of their Judge forces. *''The Cursed Earth'' (progs 61–85): In a plot inspired by the sci-fi novel Damnation Alley a team of Mega-City One Judges led by Dredd, accompanied by punk biker Spikes Harvey Rotten, delivers a vaccine across the Cursed Earth to save Mega-City Two from an outbreak of the 2T-FRU-T virus. Where Luna-One had been a series of stories, this was the first true epic storyline with a single plot spanning 25 episodes. *'[[The Day The Law Died|''The Day The Law Died]]!''' (progs 89–108; prologues in 86–88) recounts the assassination of Chief Judge Goodman and the subsequent hundred-day tyranny of the insane Chief Judge Cal. The second epic, and the first of many to use a plot about Mega-City One and the Judges being brought to the brink of destruction; the first appearance of Cal, another villain whose influence would outlive the character by many years; the first and second on-page death of a Chief Judge; the introduction of the Kleggs; the construction of the massive walls around Mega-City One's borders. Major storylines of the 1980s and 1990s 1980-1984 *''Judge Death'' (progs 149–151): The first and for some time only appearance of both Dredd's archenemy Judge Death and his longtime ally and friend psi-Judge Cassandra Anderson, setting the stage for many future classic storylines and spinoffs. *''The Judge Child'' '(Progs 156–181): Dredd and Barbara Hershey lead a team of Judges across the galaxy to find Owen Krysler, marked as the future saviour of the city by a dying psi-Judge. The first long-form story since ''The Cursed Earth to depart from the confines of Mega-City One, notable for introducing Hershey, McGruder, The Angel Gang and Murd the Oppressor. *Judge Death Lives!' (Progs 224–228): First appearance of the other core members of the Dark Judges and of Deadworld. Judges Fire, Fear and Mortis free Death and embark on a killing spree in Billy Carter Block before being banished back to Deadworld and vanquished by Dredd and Anderson. An online poll in 2005 voted this the third best story ''2000 AD ever printed. *''Block Mania'' (Progs 236–244): An extended prologue to The Apocalypse War wherein Sov-block agents drug Mega-City One's water supply to induce an outbreak of mass violence across the city. Notable also for the death of the first Judge Giant and the introduction of recurring villain Orlok. *''The Apocalypse War'' (Progs 245–267 and 269-270): The first epic story with truly dramatic and permanent effects on the entire status quo: the destruction of half of Mega-City One and the death of 400 million citizens at the beginning of the eponymous war, and the subsequent total annihilation of East-Meg One at its conclusion. Storylines using the lingering effects and consequences of the war as a central plot element continue to appear over thirty years later, including at least one epic in its own right. Also notable for the death of Chief Judge Griffin and the foundations for yet another villainous legacy in the form of War Marshal Kazan. *''City of the Damned'' (Progs 393–406) concludes the storyline begun in The Judge Child Quest. Dredd and Anderson travel in time from 2107 to 2120 and discover that Owen Krysler (or rather a clone thereof), far from saving the city, is actually the cause of the predicted disaster; they travel back in time and kill the clone in order to avert the horrifying future. Notable also as the origin of Dredd's oft-referenced bionic eyes after he is blinded in the future and the first appearance of time travel which would return as a plot device in several future stories. City of the Damned was a cut-down rewrite of what was intended to be a longer epic before the creative team got tired of it. Its serialisation started and ended either side of the new year; after its conclusion the rest of 1985 saw no major stories published. 1986-1990 *''The Chief Judge Resigns'' (prog 457) and Letter From a Democrat (prog 460): The former story introduces Thomas Silver as the new Chief Judge, a character who goes on to have a major impact on the democracy storyline in the following years; the latter is the genesis of that storyline, and one of the first stories to introduce the more mature and overt satire that are now just as common in Dredd strips as the older focus on humour and action. *In Oz (progs 545–570) Dredd travels to Australia ostensibly to arrest a fugitive Marlon Shakesphere, but his true target is Morton Judd. The introduction of the Judda, setting the stage for Kraken's future importance in the Necropolis sequence. Also a precursor in the longer term for the eventual appearance of the various clones of Dredd. *''Young Giant'' (progs 651-665) introduces Judge Giant's son who would go on to be a recurring supporting character just like his father, and would serve as the main protagonist for part of the epic Necropolis in Dredd's absence. *The Necropolis sequence **''The Dead Man'' (progs 650–662) was not initially clarified to be a Dredd spinoff, and was printed alongside continuing Judge Dredd storylines for its duration. The young Yassa Povey guides a mutilated gunslinger with no memory of his past through the Cursed Earth, with the latter eventually revealed as an amnesiac Joe Dredd who was attacked by the Sisters of Death. The the first step in setting the stage for Necropolis. **''A Letter to Judge Dredd'' (prog 661): Dredd receives a letter written by a child who has been killed as an indirect result of the Judges' suppression of a pro-democracy demonstration, causing him to seriously question the entire ethical basis of the Mega-City judicial system. This sets up Tale of the Dead Man which in turn is a prologue to Necropolis. **''Tale of the Dead Man'' (progs 662–668) Dredd's crisis of faith prompts him to resign after Kraken's rookie assessment. Dredd's Long Walk leads up to The Dead Man itself and Kraken's assumption of Dredd's identity in the city marks him as the true protagonist of the Judge Dredd stories in progs 650-660. **Countdown to Necropolis (progs 669–673): Several short prequels to Necropolis, not featuring Dredd. **''Necropolis'' (progs 674–699): The Dark Judges and the Sisters of Death take over Mega-City One, using brainwashed Judges including Kraken to massacre 60 million citizens. Dredd himself is not a central character for half of the episodes, a unique situation among the epic stories; otherwise notable for the (un)death of Chief Judge Silver, the return of both McGruder and the Dark Judges, the first appearance of the Sisters of Death, and the death of Kraken. Like the Apocalypse War before it, the Dark Judges' rule of the city would have lasting effects referred to in subsequent stories for years afterward. 1991-99 *''The Devil You Know'' (progs 750–753) and Twilight's Last Gleaming (progs 754–756): The long-running tensions between the totalitarian Judges and the movement for the restoration of democracy in Mega-City One at last come to a head and a referendum is organised. When the day comes the apathetic population mostly don’t bother to vote and the majority of those who do favour keeping the Judges in control. A pro-democracy march of almost two million protesters heads for Justice Central, but violence is averted when Dredd convinces them that the referendum was fair. *''America'' (Judge Dredd Megazine vol.1 #1–7): Dredd's philosophy is explored when democracy activists resort to terrorism. The most significant of those thinly spread stories which portray Dredd as a straight-up villain rather than an anti-hero; the first appearance of America Jara and Bennett Beeny, another pair of characters whose future legacy would be felt for a long time after their deaths; the introduction of the pro-democracy terrorist group Total War who would return several times including later major storylines. *''Judgement on Gotham: A one-shot crossover published by Fleetway and DC, recounting a reluctant alliance between Dredd and Batman when Judge Death and Mean Machine Angel travel between dimensions to Batman's world. Recieved three sequels: ''Vendetta in Gotham, The Ultimate Riddle and Die Laughing. Besides the unusual occurrence of an inter-company crossover being is entirely canon (at least on the Dredd side), Judgement is also a notable example of the flanderisation of Judge Death to a more comical character during this period. *''Judgement Day'' (progs 786–799 and Megazine vol.2 #4-9): The second and longest of three crossovers between Judge Dredd and another long-running 2000 AD strip, Strontium Dog. Dredd reluctantly allies with time-hopping Mutant bounty hunter Johnny Alpha to defeat Sabbat the Necromagus, who has travelled back from 2178 to 2114 to raise the dead and destroy the living world. The heavy casualties experienced by the Judges in the battle against Sabbat's zombies would prompt the development of the Mechanismo robots. The destruction of East-Meg Two and Sino-City One would also be referenced in future material. *The Mechanismo trilogy **''Mechanismo'' (Megazine vol.2 #12–17): Chief Judge McGruder orders a test run of ten prototype robot Judges intended to fill in for heavy casualties suffered during Necropolis and Judgement Day. Dredd's skepticism proves justified when several of the robots run amok. **''Mechanismo Returns'' (Meg vol.2 #22–26): Mechanismo Number 5 is accidentally re-activated and goes on a rampage, killing many innocents and Judges before vanishing. **''Body Count'' (Meg vol.2 #37–43): The rogue robot resurfaces, and Dredd clashes with McGruder over the development of Mechanismo mark 2 - going so far as to lie about his climactic confrontation with Number 5 to discredit the new model. This conflict between Dredd and McGruder and the Chief Judge's increasingly erratic behaviour would be a major element in future stories culminating in Wilderlands. *''Inferno'' (progs 842–853): Escaped prisoners from Titan - led by a returning villain, ex-Judge Grice - briefly take over the city and force the Judges into exile in the Cursed Earth. *The Wilderlands sequence **''Conspiracy of Silence'' (progs 891–894): After a meeting with Hershey and other senior Judges to discuss removing McGruder from office, Dredd discovers that the Mechanismo project has continued in secret - and conversely McGruder discovers Dredd's deception regarding the climax of Body Count. First appearance of Judge Laverne Castillo, at this time serving as McGruder's assistant; she would become another recurring sidekick to Dredd in future stories. **A short prologue (Meg vol.2 #57) recounts Dredd's dismissal and arrest when Chief Judge McGruder reveals his deception. **''The Tenth planet'' (Meg vol.2 #58-62): McGruder and Castillo visit the settlement on planet Hestia, with the colonists proving unimpressed by the Chief Judge's paranoid behaviour. Dredd accompanies as a prisoner, due to be deposited on Titan during the return trip to Earth, but undermines McGruder when he saves a touring party from the threats of Hestia's hostile environment while the mark 2A Mechanismo robots prove ineffective. **''Wilderlands'' (progs 904-914 and Meg vol.2 #63-67): This story initially recounts the same events in both 2000 AD and the Megazine, as McGruder's ship crashes during its departure from Hestia leaving the Chief Judge, her entourage and several prisoners (including Dredd) stranded in the hostile wilderness. The two storylines diverge when the party splits with Dredd and Castillo pursuing different routes to recovery. **''Parting Shots''(Prog 915) and Farewell To The Chief (Meg vol.2 #68): McGruder cancels the Mechanismo program and declares that the next Chief Judge will be voted in by other senior Judges, her last acts before resigning. This brings an end to the Dredd/McGruder subplot, and although the Mechanismo robots would occasionally appear again in a supporting capacity they would not be at the centre of a major plot again until the late 2010s. **''The Candidates'' and Voting Day (progs 916-918) serve as a post-script to this storyline, covering the process of the internal election announced in Parting Shots. Hadrian Volt is voted in as the new Chief Judge. *''The Pit'' (progs 970–999) covers Dredd's tenure as Sector House Chief in Sector 301, an isolated area of the city that has become a dumping ground for corrupt and incompetent judges. Introduced the popular character Judge Galen DeMarco, the closest thing Dredd has had to a love interest, who would go on to get a solo series. *'The Doomsday Scenario' (progs 1141–1164 and 1167, Megazine vol.3 #52-59): The last and longest epic before the turn of the Millennium and the first series to depict the same story from two different viewpoints concurrently from start to finish. One thread is from the perspective of DeMarco, now a civilian, during crime lord Nero Narcos' brief reign over Mega-City One after he deposes the Judges with a robot army. The other story covers Dredd's trial for war crimes by East Meg One survivors and after his escape, his efforts to sabotage Narcos' robots with the aid of Brit-Cit Judges. In the aftermath, the death of Chief Judge Volt opened the way for Hershey's first term. Major storylines of the 21st century (cleanup in progress) *'Helter Skelter' (progs 1250–1261) An army of Dredd's greatest foes, from alternate dimensions where they won, band together under an alternate Judge Cal (see The Day the Law Died) and use dimension jump technology to invade Dredd's dimension, unable to stand the idea that there is a universe where he won. Their presence starts a total collapse of all universes, causing characters from other 2000 AD stories to appear in Mega-City One – Cal intends to exploit this chaos. Dredd defeats Cal with the help of dimension technician Darien Kenzie. *'Blood Cadets' (progs 1186–1188) Saw the introduction of a new clone of Dredd, who took the name Rico; *'Blood And Duty '(progs 1300–1301) Saw the return of Dredd's niece Vienna Pasternak. With Vienna's reintroduction and the new Rico's arrival, Dredd was given a family and several new plot points for future stories, including the Justice Department creating a large number of Dredd clones and Dredd's problems with trying to connect with his niece. *'Judge Dredd vs. Aliens: Incubus' (2003 special and progs 1322–1335) pits Dredd against the monsters from the Alien movie series, with mutant terrorist Mister Bones breeding an army of Xenomorphs in the Undercity and having them assault the Department of Justice. Another intercompany crossover between Rebellion and Dark Horse which unlike the Batman/Judge Dredd series was published within the pages of 2000 AD itself. *'Terror' (progs 1392–1399) and Total War (progs 1408–1419): Agents of Total War smuggle twelve nuclear devices into Mega-City One and threaten to detonate them unless the Judges leave the City. A standard thriller plot made more significant through explorations of Judge Dredd's extended family, including Vienna and a Dredd clone, Nimrod. *'Blood Trails' (progs 1440–1449): Following on from elements of Total War and Gulag (where Dredd led a mission free POWs from the Sov block), a clone of War Marshal Kazan attacks Dredd by targeting Vienna, sending the face-changing assassin Pasha to gain her trust and abduct her. In the aftermath of the story, the clone was cut loose by East-Meg Two and claimed political asylum from Mega-City One. First appearance of Anatoli Kazan. Also recounts how long-time recurring character Judge Guthrie recieving the injuries that would lead to him becoming a cyborg and retiring from his full street duties. *'Origins' (progs 1505–1519 and 1529–1535; prologue in 1500–1504) Consists largely of flashbacks and sets out the history of the Judges and of Chief Judge Fargo, as well as scenes from Dredd's childhood during the Third World War. *'Mutants in Mega-City One' (progs 1542–1545) Is the first in a series of short stories in which Dredd campaigns to change the apartheid laws prohibiting mutants from entering the city. This results in Chief Judge Hershey being voted out of office and replaced with Judge Francisco. *'Tour of Duty' (progs 1650–1693) Sees Judge Dredd posted out into the Cursed Earth to oversee the foundations of four new Mutant townships. The corrupt judge Martin Sinfield, puppet master behind the new Justice Department regime, manipulates Francisco so he can install himself as Chief Judge, and promptly becomes the target of repeated assassination attempts. Dredd is recalled from exile to lead the investigation into the attacks, which are the work of serial mass-murderer PJ Maybe, who has assumed the identity of mayor Byron Ambrose. The Day of Chaos sequence (progs 1743-1789), the longest epic so far, recounts the failure of the Judges to stop a Soviet bioweapon attack which kills 350 million people. Probably the most significant story since The Apocalypse War (to which it serves as a sequel) in terms of its lasting impact on the setting and the first epic where the ending is a decisive and inarguable defeat for Dredd and Mega-City One, and the tone and flavour of the narrative have changed accordingly: although comedy, action and satire have not been completely eliminated from the Judge Dredd formula a much greater number of stories published between 2012 and the present have adopted a dark and fatalistic tone invoking the last few stories of this sequence. Trifecta (progs 1803-1812): Dark Justice (2015 special and progs 1912-1921) marks the return of Judge Death over a decade after his last solo spinoff. Also the first story featuring the other Dark Judges since their brief appearance in the Day of Chaos sequence. Dredd and Anderson battle the four Dark Judges aboard a spaceship, eventually capturing Fear and jettisoning Death, Fire and Mortis into space. This ending sets up the spinoff stories Dominion and The Torture Garden, which together form the first complete story to feature the whole group rather than a single Dark Judge without Dredd or Anderson also appearing. The Small House (progs 2100-2109) concludes a long-running plot thread that began in Trifecta as Dredd and his allies finally come face to face with Judge Smiley, and includes revelations regarding past events and longstanding characters which recontextualise such important storylines as The Apocalypse War. Machine Law Category:Judge dredd Comics Category:Lists